Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
It has been a quick offseason in the Carolina Hurricanes organization.
Three short months ago, the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup while their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, reached the Calder Cup Finals. And some of the main figures on last year’s Wolves squad have been using training camp to push for NHL work.
Jobs are available with the defending champs. Star forward Seth Jarvis is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Defenseman Alexander Nikishin remains unsigned. Those absences leave significant holes will need to be filled before Carolina’s season opener against Florida on Tuesday.
Felix Unger Sörum, Bradly Nadeau and Justin Robidas all got extended looks during the Hurricanes’ four-game exhibition slate, notching three points apiece. Wolves captain Josiah Slavin got in three preseason games, and Dominik Badinka, Jusso Välimäki, Joel Nyström, Gleb Trikozov, Aleksi Heimosalmi, Charles Alexis Legault, Skyler Brind’Amour, Ivan Ryabkin, Victor Neuchev, Ronan Seeley, Cayden Primeau and Juha Jääskä — who missed all of last season due to injury — all saw action as well.
That provided a look at the talent Wolves head coach Spiros Anastas has been developing in Chicago. For a team that has been in its Stanley Cup contention window for some time, the Hurricanes still possess a well-fortified prospect base.
After two seasons with the Wolves, Nadeau may just be ready for a full-time role at 21 years old. He has 59 goals and 114 points in 116 AHL games, and he came through with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 21 playoff games this past spring. Unger Sörum tied for fifth in the AHL in scoring a year ago. Robidas tallied 60 points in 58 contests.
Much of the core from last year’s Wolves club is still in the organization — forward Ryan Suzuki (Ottawa) and defenseman Domenick Fensore (Colorado) are the most notable departures — but Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky and his staff continue to add depth. Defensemen Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Mike Reilly were both signed just before camp opened. Charlie Cerrato, a second-round draft pick in 2025, turned pro after two strong seasons at Penn State. Noel Fransén, 20, comes over from Färjestad BK in Sweden.
The Wolves’ 2026 playoff run may have come up short of a Calder Cup championship. But the work may pay off yet.
On the American Hockey League beat for more than two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2015-16.
